What does 'Settlement Cracks' mean when buying a property?

Find out what Settlement Cracks means when you are buying a property. 'What does Settlement Cracks mean?' plus over 150 other property related terms and jargon in plain English

Settlement Cracks

This can refer to both new and old properties. With new properties the cracks are only visible inside the property with cracks appearing in the plaster as the block settles. Cracks less than 1-3mm wide are quite normal.

On period properties settlement cracks can be much wider (over 1 cm) and can also be caused by subsidence or heave so its important to know the exact cause. Cracks can be clearly visible on the interior and exterior walls.

If the cause of the cracks is of no concern (such as normal annual movement of the property up and down then the cracks on the exterior walls should be filled to make sure the property does not suffer penetrating damp.

Note a large crack on a period property may not be serious as it can relate to movement decades ago. If in doubt ask a structural engineer to inspect.

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Introduction

"... surveyors should never estimate the cost of works; When rising damp, penetrating damp, subsidence, cracking, sagging roofs, bulging walls and all the other frightening things in a surveyor's report might be serious, and when they are not; Why asking the vendor to carry out work is not..."

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Chapter 20: What a Property Survey Really Means

"... it can be too time consuming to check some of the most common work. Let's take an example of penetrating damp found underneath a window which is coming from a crack between the outside brickwork and the window frame. The work to fill in the crack might cost £200 so you would feel confident in asking the vendor to put it right. But he hires a cheap builder who uses low quality materials and provides a receipt confirming the work is done. It may have been done to such a standard that you will have to undo and redo the work yourself at some stage in the near..."

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Chapter 23: Why Vendors Choose Bad Estate Agents

"... get side tracked by these irrelevancies. Feedback from viewings and honest advice are far, far better. The agent knows none of them are particularly effective but they know the vendor thinks they are. In the meantime they crack on with registering active buyers and trying to match them to your property...."

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What's in the 2025 edition .....

Why buying property is right for some and wrong for others;
The state of the market today;
What Brexit and Covid 19 means to the future of UK property;
How the media have become unreliable indicators of the market;
Who makes good quality predictions for the property market (and who doesn't);
How the market works over the short term and the long term;
The difference between property bubbles and property booms;
Why it can be a good idea to buy when prices are falling;
The principles of buying a property to let and what the text books don't tell you;
Ways to get on the property ladder when it looks impossible;
How professional buyers and investors work with estate agents to get better deals;
Why you should see as many Financial Advisors as possible;
What to do before you start viewing so you don't lose your dream home;
Who the surveyor, solicitor and estate agent are really working for;
How to make an offer to get things your way;
Who to trust and who, with the best intentions, may be misleading you;
Why you should work to minimise the time between offer agreed and exchange;
Making sense of a property survey including:
- What type of survey to get and why structural surveys can be money wasted;
- Why surveyors should never estimate the cost of works;
- When rising damp, penetrating damp, subsidence, cracking, sagging roofs, bulging walls and all the other frightening things in a surveyor's report might be serious, and when they are not;
- Why asking the vendor to carry out work is not always a good idea.
Step by step guides explaining what should be happening, what can happen, and how to solve mole hills before they become mountains;
Over 140 terms in an easy to use glossary so the jargon of the property industry can be understood;
20 true stories of successes, and disasters, that real people experienced when buying a property.

.... and what's not in the book ...

Continuous commentary banging on about how great property is and that it is the only place to put your money!
Recommending businesses that I get kickbacks from.
Rewording and republishing what is available freely from most websites anyway.
Endless tales of how easy it is to buy property and profit.
Attempts to sell you some course or other product.
Blank pages and spaced out text to make the book seem bigger.

What does 'Settlement Cracks' mean when buying a property?

Settlement Cracks

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Property FAQ

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Property Terminology